An image of the Arctic sea ice on September 16, 2012, the day that the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported the minimum Arctic ice cover on record. The yellow outline shows the average sea ice minimum from 1979 through increasing summer ice melt to 2010. Illustrated image provided by NASA Goddard's Visualization Explorer.

October 25, 2012 Cambridge, England - The U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that the first nine months of 2012 were the warmest on record for the contiguous United States. Further, the Arctic is melting faster than any computer model ever predicted. For the first time on record, 75% of the Arctic sea ice had melted by mid-September 2012. The National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado says that direct satellite measurements of the Arctic sea ice began in the late 1970s, but it has been at least a few thousand years since the Arctic has had so much open water.

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us improve the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies.OKRead more